Cartoon Network Preps Interactive Mobile Application

Aimed at replacing wallpapers and ringtones by providing an interactive user experience, Cartoon Network New Media has teamed with Turner Broadcasting R&D and Ericsson to create a mobile application that will enable characters from the content provider’s shows to be displayed on subscribers’ cell phones.

The application is called CallToons and, the company said, will one-up wallpapers and ringtones by using them as stepping stones to enable interactivity with characters from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim when it becomes available to consumers in the fourth quarter of this year.

The functionality is also expected to create new revenue generating opportunities for wireless operators looking to evolve their services while mobile TV services, and the networks needed to deliver them, continue to grow.

CallToons ties together popular mobile content such as ringtones, ringbacks, wallpapers, and audio and text alerts into a character-driven narrative experience. Cartoon Network New Media will introduce additional functionality to the CallToons application in the coming months.

"CallToons does more than set a character's voice to a ringtone,” said Ross Cox, senior director of entertainment products for the content provider. “CallToons allows a character's personality to take over the mobile phone's functionality so that they actually interact with the user and incoming callers in a unique way.”

Cartoon Network New Media is responsible for the production of Cartoon Network's popular Web sites, which attracts more than 5 million unique users each month. Its top attraction is its roster of games, which drew more than 2 billion game plays in 2006.

In addition, Cartoon Network New Media is the creative force behind Cartoon Network's VoD, interactive TV and mobile offerings, which include partnerships with major carriers like Sprint Nextel Corp., Cingular (now AT&T) and Verizon.

Cartoon Network New Media developed CallToons in conjunction with Turner Platform R&D, and has been in discussions with Ericsson regarding concept refinement and content delivery options. The technology takes Cartoon Network New Media into mobile licensing as the product will be available to non-Turner companies in the future.

Cartoon Network www.cartoonnework.com  

Ericsson www.ericsson.com  

Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc. www.turner.com

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